North Carolina is divided politically, and we all know it. The fault line of our division rests at the intersection of rural and urban. Filmmaker Cynthia Hill, the director and producer behind A Chef's Life and Private Violence, knows this well. It is her life.

A self-identified “closet liberal,” Cynthia has built a career documenting rural North Carolina's rich stories. Raised in a conservative Eastern North Carolina household, she’s now raising her children in Durham, and the political divisions between her North Carolina worlds are stark. She decided to make a short film about it.

Today we present an exclusive premiere of Divided We Stand, a deeply personal film Cynthia made with long-time collaborator Malinda Maynor Lowery that explores tension and tolerance within Cynthia’s own family. It hits close to home.

A note from the producers:

Divided We Stand explores tension and tolerance within families in a hotly debated political climate. Filmmaker Cynthia Hill navigates the very different perspectives of her friends in Durham and her family back home in rural Eastern North Carolina. For Cynthia, filmmaking is cheaper than therapy and offers a creative means to embark on this journey that is both self-reflective and socially experimental. Through conversations with her young children, friends, and father she understands how intimate communities can be profoundly divided over what best represents "the common good." Divided We Stand is a timely demonstration of mutual respect, dialogue, and building bridges across a wide and ruptured spectrum of political beliefs.